I linked arms with Sybil as we made our way down the hill and toward the shed.
She looked my way, taking in my robe and messy hair. In turn, I admired her hiking gear. She dressed impeccably, and that made me proud. Everything coordinated in shades of black and gray, her usual style, especially considering her inability to see colors. She always wore some variation of gray. I’m sure it made things easier that way. She would always be an enigma to me, but her mysteries were precisely what made her so special.
“Where did you all even come from?” I asked.
Sybil shrugged,“It’s a long story.” She glanced down at her boots.“Nash has been a wreck for days. When he got your message, he was impossible to be around. Honestly, Bill and I were doing anything to avoid him. He paced a crater through Scotland, I swear.” She shook her head.
I laughed.“Sounds about right.”
“I know, he’s so intense sometimes,” she went on.“But eventually I got fed up. I finally suggested we come to find you and use the location on your phone to do it, and it was like a switch flipped in his head. I guess he hadn’t thought to do that.”
I laughed again.“No. Nash was never good with logistics.”
She grinned, but also looked wistful and in love with his quarks.“Nash and I cut our Scotland trip short and flew to Toronto the next day, which was three days ago. Once in Canada, Nash arranged a helicopter, and you know him, he got really pumped about it.”
I rolled my eyes.“Of course,” I agreed.
Nash loved flying helicopters. When we were young, he would join my father on his helicopter trips around the city. When working with bigger art collectors and clients, we often flew between penthouses in New York, which was much faster than sitting in traffic. Once Nash was old enough, he started taking lessons and earned his license.
My brow knitted together, and I looked around at the surrounding forest.“But where on earth did he land it?”
She gestured towards the cliff I’d climbed and the field beside it.“Out in the field over there, the same place your phone pinged.” She gave me a wry smile.“By the way, we found your phone in the grass. I don’t think it’ll work anymore, though. The entire thing looked like it’d fallen from the sky.”
I threw my head back and laughed.“It practically did! I tossed that piece of shit off a cliff!”
She began laughing along with me.
“It’s funny you found it,” I said, catching my breath.“I hadn’t even considered Nash could track my location. I guess I’m glad now that he could.”
She was still fighting giggles.“Yeah, he was really glad, too. That is, until he realized that if we could trace you, then bad people could too. He spent several hours freaking out about that on our flight from Scotland to Canada, especially given your rather cryptic message about the mafia on your tail. The minute we got off the plane in Canada, he had the entire phone line swept for other traces and then removed the number altogether. So, sorry, you’ll have to get a new number now.” She grimaced.
I snorted.“I suppose that’s one way to shut down all those late-night booty calls—cancel the phone number.”
She let out a bark of laughter.“Betty! You rake!”
I chuffed.“Some of those dudes were so persistent. I had a lot of‘DO NOT ANSWER’phone numbers saved in my phone,” I joked.“But I should probably let Gray know that no one else is tracing me. I’m sure he’s also concerned about who else might find us if you guys did.”
“I bet Nash will tell him,” Sybil said reassuringly.
“So how did you find the cabin?” I went on.
She waved me off as though the answer were obvious.“Oh, that was easy. From above, it’s quite the spectacle—not to mention the smoke.”
Of course, between the structures and chimney smoke, not to mention the glare coming off the solar panels and the dramatic river running past, I’m sure it wasn’t hard to spot.
I grinned wickedly to myself.“Do you think Nash and Gray are talking, or killing each other up there?”
We’d arrived at the shed at a leisurely pace. As I led Sybil inside, I shut the door behind us to trap in more warmth and hopefully keep the boys at bay.
Sybil dropped her hold on my arm.“No. Before we came in from the porch earlier, I instructed him not to hurt Gray. I warned him I’d deny him sex if Gray sustained even the slightest injury. I should admit, Nash pulled a gun on Gray when he first got here, but he’s calmer now that he knows you’re alive and safe.”
“A gun? I’m sure Graylovedthat.” I’m surprised his PTSD hadn’t kicked in.
My tub was steaming and ready with little spring daisies floating on the surface. Despite my concern for Gray, a little smirk touched my lips. He’d prepared this for me, and I loved that.
Sybil was scrutinizing my expression again; I could feel her gaze burning a hole in my cheek.“You don’t seem in need of saving,” she went on, walking over to the tub and dipping her hand into the water to pluck out a flower.“If I’m not mistaken, you look like you’re thriving out here. I mean, thisisrather glorious.” She spun the daisy between her fingers.
Nodding, I replied,“I could say the same about you. It appears Scotland has been good to you.” I removed my robe and stepped into the tub.
